Jabal Umm ad Dami, Jordan, 1854m... and Wadi Rum

Date Climbed: 26th of May 2018

Route: Trail and scramble up the west face 

Starting elevation: 1425 m

Elevation gain: +430 m

Hike distance (one way): ~2.0 km
Click here for GPS track

Airier than Air Jordan, Jabal Umm ad Dami is the highest point of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Located in an isolated corner of Jordan, just 3 km from the border with Saudi Arabia, no road leads here. We did this climb as part of a 2 day 1 night visit to Wadi Rum. We drove from Amman Airport and arrived in the late afternoon. Our Airbnb host, from Wadi Rum village, Awwad came and picked us up. Awwad and the people here are Bedouins, and belongs to the Zalabieh tribe. Before dinner, we went out for a drive into the desert south of Wadi Rum village. Just south out of the main valley of Wadi Rum, the desert opens up. We took a look at some petroglyphs and a spring in a cleft of Jebel Khazali. We then clamber up a vantage point to take in the splendid views of the deserts and the giant sandstone monoliths that seem to float on an orange sea of sand, made even more fiery by the sunset.  

A sunset view of Jebel Khazali

In describing the scenery of Wadi Rum, T.E. Lawrence, a.k.a. Lawrence of Arabia, (Chapter LXII, Seven Pillars of Wisdom) once wrote '...Our little caravan grew self-conscious, and fell dead quiet, afraid and ashamed to flaunt its smallness in the presence of the stupendous hills...' - 

Jebel Khazali (Above), one of these many "stupendous hills" glows in the sunset colours, and seems to rise up like a gigantic petrified animal. Occasional jeeps sail through the seas of sands like tiny spiders, thus amplifying the sheer magnitude of these sandstone massifs, heir summit, a good seven to eight hundred metres above the sand.  Despite the spectacular view, it was quiet, as if nature is totally oblivious to its own majesty. 

Jebel Rum

The next morning, our guide, Abdullah picked us up in his off-road pickup and away to Jabal Umm ad Dami. 

One way of traveling in the desert...

The trail head of the Jabal Umm ad Dami climb can be reached via an hour and a half off-road desert drive south, from Wadi Rum Village. The drive passed through various smaller wadis. South of the main wadis, the sand changed colours to a more mundane beige, the huge rock massifs are also accordingly paled into the usual sandstone colours. It became quite obvious why Wadi Rum was so alluring. The pink/orange sand and brown rocks of Wadi Rum are not so common. Also, whilst the huge massifs of Wadi Rum are cut down sharp leaving exposed dramatic vertical cliffs, like a sharp knife cut, the massifs south of Wadi Rum are weathered down in the more common way and shaped like Gaussian functions. After crossing a wide desert corridor, we arrived at a range of mountains that seem to extend into Saudi Arabia.

From the trailhead, one can't see the summit of Jabal Umm ad Dami., and the trail leads towards a false summit that looks lower than another peak beside it, but Adbullah reassured us that the trail is correct. The hike is about 2 km long with an altitude gain of about ~430 m. It was a very pleasant hike as we were lucky to get a partially cloudy sky to shield against the desert sun. 

Abdullah leading us towards Jebel Um ad Adami. The peak you see is the false summit. The real highpoint lies just behind this false summit.

Looking back to he wadi that we drove in

At the summit, the highest point of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. 

At the summit. The view north

The view to the northeast

A view south from the summit. The border with Saudi Arabia is barely 3 km away.

After we descended, we had a day long drive around the Wadi Rum area...

A natural sand arch, known as 'Um Frouth'

View of the desert from 'Lawrence's House'. Here is a shelter where T.E. Lawrence stayed in during his exploits in this area.

and finally, as the sunset, we retired to a Bedouin camp for the night.

Bedouin music, on a oud, a mandolin-like instrument. lyrical, accompanied by the crackling of the burning twigs, under the starry sky.

Morning view of our Bedouin 'Glamp' at the north end of  Jebel Qabr Amra

Morning. Relaxing on an outcrop above our camp.

Practical stuff:...

The total price for the two of us: 140JOD (=196USD) for 2D1N.

which includes the off-road pickup and a guide,

all meals and an overnight stay in a Bedouin Camp. It is more glamping than camping. With a proper bed, and shower (not en-suite though), quite comfortable.